Episode 01: Humpty Dumpty
sits on the wall with Coutchie-Coulou]] In the eight minute pilot episode for the series, Mother Goose tells her three goslings the story of Humpty Dumpty. Story There once was a large speckled hen who lived near the royal palace. One day, she laid an extraordinarily large egg. It was the prince of all eggs, and so she decided to name it "Prince Humpty Dumpty". The other eggs in the nest come to resent Humpty Dumpty because of his size, so they push him out of the nest. Humpty Dumpty enters the world with the deluded notion that he is a great prince. Humpty thinks the barnyard is no place for royalty and sets out for his proper place at the castle. He soon meets a bird named Coutchie-Coulou and invites him to come along and become his royal footman. The pair soon reach the castle's outer wall. They are about the climb the wall when they hear the princess talking to a prince. The princess explains that her father the king has passed a law stating that whomever can create a riddle that he cannot answer will earn his daughter's hand in marriage. The prince is saddened by the news, as the two want to get married, but he is inept at devising good riddles. Humpty, overhearing this, decides that the only thing more prince-like than living in a castle is marrying a princess. He decides to think up a riddle to ask the king and marry the princess himself. Humpty Dumpty climbs the wall and sits atop it while waiting for the king. The prince is also sitting in the courtyard trying to create a riddle a thinking out loud; however, Humpty chimes in and solves each one of the prince's riddles effortlessly. Soon, the king approaches in his royal carriage. Humpty Dumpty calls to the king, declaring that he has a riddle for him. The king stops, but Humpty Dumpty, sitting to close to the edge, falls off the wall and cracks. This inspires the young prince with a riddle for the king. ::Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. ::Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. ::All the king's horses and all the king's men ::Couldn't put Humpty together again. ::What was Humpty Dumpty? The king is stumped, and says there is no answer to such a riddle. The prince explains that Humpty Dumpty was an egg. The king is impressed and allows the pair to wed. As the king, princess and prince ride off into the castle, Coutchie-Coulou is left with the broken shell of Humpty Dumpty. Suddenly, Humpty Dumpty emerges from under the broken shell as a chick. The two birds walk towards the castle where Humpty Dumpty grows up to become king of the royal farmyard. Notes * The story was loosely adapted from the tale of Humpty Dumpty in L. Frank Baum's "Mother Goose in Prose." * Taping for the episode took place on November 17, 1987. http://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2010/11/17/11171987/ Characters :Speckled Hen, Prince Humpty Dumpty, Eggs, Coutchie-Coulou, The Prince, The Princess, The King Cast and Jim Henson on the set.]] *James Conway as the prince *Katy Boughton Smith as the princess *'Puppeteers:' Mike Quinn, Mak Wilson Video releases *''Humpty Dumpty'' (1995) *''Humpty Dumpty'' (2005) See also *Humpty Dumpty __NOWYSIWYG__ Category:Mother Goose Stories Episodes Category:Pilots and Pitches